QBIct stands for Quantifying Brain Injury on Computed Tomography.
The Problem: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the most common cause of death and disability among children in Canada. Children who are admitted to the hospital with decreased level of consciousness after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) require urgent medical attention. Treatment will depend on the type and severity of injury. Currently there is no accurate way to systematically assess TBI based on the commonly used brain imaging techniques. Unfortunately, history and physical findings are often unreliable in the first hours of hospitalization, which is the critical time period in which urgent management decisions must be made.
The Solution: We have developed a promising tool for measuring detectable evidence of traumatic brain injury on routine brain scans. The tool combines features invisible to the human eye but detectable by computer software with expert knowledge. We want to evaluate how well our tool can perform in a real health care setting. We believe it will greatly improve the efficacy and quality of care provided to children after traumatic brain injury.